As entrepreneurs, we’re constantly going to trade shows, going on trips, meeting up with other people at masterminds. There’s always a question of, what do I do with my time?

If you’re with a group of people who are hitting a bar or staying up all night talking like what do you do?

Most of us know that if we want to function better, we need more sleep. But we also can’t discount the fact that that’s where a lot of connections are made which can potentially turn into deals, joint ventures, and all of those things that happen at the non-conference hours.

I just had a client who actually asking me about this. He flew all the way across the country and he was saying, okay, I’m faced with the decision whether to go out to dinner with these people or do I just go back to my room and do some work?

And here’s my take, I told him that you’re there to have the experience. You’re there for the education, but you’re also never ever going to have the opportunity to be in this same area as those people, like in one room at one time. Take advantage of it.

My philosophy is go ahead and get tired now to a point. But still take care of yourself so that you can actually keep functioning for each of the days as they come.

Limit the alcohol, limit your sleep, but do try to take care of yourself and take advantage of all of those opportunities.

Because the best part of all of these events and all of the things that you’re doing is the connections. It’s the people that you know and those connections, the times that those are happening that you can never replace.

So my personal philosophy is take as much advantage of that as you can while still functioning like a human.

Entrepreneurs are known for forging new paths. We’re trying to get to our vision of where we want to go, but we don’t always know what that path looks like along the way. And the thing is, we can’t get there without a roadmap.

As I often previously mention, we can be like the squirrel that goes off on squirrel trails that aren’t part of the map. And if we’re not following the map, we won’t be able to get where we’re going. It’s absolutely impossible for the people that we hire as well as the subcontractors in our team to follow us along this same journey. If we don’t have that map, it’s vital that we draw up one.

You can do this by speaking a different language when it gets into the tech side of things. For instance, web developers talk in a different language right. We, as entrepreneurs, we speak a kind of different language as well.

And for other people out there that aren’t one or have never been one, they don’t quite understand what we’re saying. That’s why it’s so much easier to translate when you have a map because you can just show them instead of trying to explain what it is that you need them to do. Show them a visual because picture is worth a thousand words.

Because if you don’t have that roadmap for your business, it’s impossible to get people to join you along the way.

So at Formula Done, I’ve been doing this for years with our customers. It’s so important that every time we start off any new project or take on a new client, what we do is we actually sit down and do a complete mapping session.

We map out the path for them. What’s the system? What’s the process that people are following? What’s the customer journey look like? Do we have an answer for a yes or no decision every single time along the way?

And when you see those new shiny object beings, is that part of your path or is that as something that needs to be done for later?

Once you have that journey, it’s so much easier to stick to it. This becomes your path until you’ve reached the end. You’ve reached the finish line, right? Then you can go back and start working on your phase two. Where do I need to come out from here? What else can I do to make this better? Maybe there’s a whole other journey, but that’s essentially what happens.

You have to have that map to know what your main starting point is so you can always come back to your core foundation. This is so you’ll know how you’re going to make it better and how you’re going to enhance that journey with the next one.

And this is something that I’ve been doing for years because I’m well-versed in the different parts that make up the whole so I can transfer that visual from my brain onto paper so people can better see and understand.

But I also understand entrepreneurs and the way programmers speak. So it’s easy for me to see all of those different paths and understand what it takes to translate that into a map. And we’re actually unveiling this as an official offering that we’re going to be sharing. It’s called the Formula Done Cartograph System.

So we’re taking your online shopping cart, we’re taking the thing that you’re trying to sell for your business and we’re turning that into a cartography system just like map makers. But we’re actually building a map for your business.

And you wouldn’t believe how much easier it is to stop worrying about the details. Stop getting stuck in the tech side of things. Don’t let that stop you from making a decision and from moving forward because you don’t have to know how to do those things.

With this in mind, you’ll have a very clear visual roadmap of what your vision is and where it needs to go. And you can use that to help hire your next team member, your next subcontractor or whoever it is who’s going to help you fit those different pieces.

Having a visual map in handy means they don’t have to keep asking you a million questions about how does this connect here? What software does that connect to here? Because they know they have the map, they become self-sufficient, everything moves faster, and you’re not worrying anymore about all of the little details.

Believe me, this has saved the sanity of so many entrepreneurs and the clients that we work with so it’s definitely a must-have!

So here’s something really cool to think about, something we’ve been doing recently for some of our clients and our own process. We’ve actually been incorporating a membership site into the sales funnel.

Now the people coming through don’t actually know that they’re in a membership site. But what it lets us do is a hundred percent customize the sales process because we know who they are, when they’ve clicked on the link, exactly what they’re interested in, and what they’ve previously bought.

All of that information allows us to personalize their experience.

Also we’re able to take the information that we have and personalize the offer. We’re able to put their name and information inside of the messaging in the funnel. We’re able to give them exactly like, okay, here’s where you are.

You’ve watched the webinar, you’ve done your first discovery call. We’re still waiting and prompting them and giving them incentive to continue logging in, give them free information when they haven’t made it all the way through the path.

It’s amazing and it has absolutely increased conversions for our customers as well as for us and it’s something that I don’t see a lot of people doing, but I think it’s a trend that’s on the rise.

Watch for it. Think about it in your business, if you don’t have a membership site, how are you converting and what do you think a completely personalized process could do for you?

This works really, really well, especially if you’re having a high-ticket funnel, high ticket offer of some sort that you’re offering, so it’s an awesome strategy to try. Take a look at it, think about it.

If you have any questions about how we could help with that, check it out. FormulaDone.com schedule a free discovery session.

Part of my new morning journey for many months now has been a change in my diet.

Last year, my friend Chris introduced me to this keto thing. I bought a course and it didn’t seem all that difficult so Cody and I jumped on board.

For those not in the know, it’s no healthy fats and low carb. Basically, no sugar, no grains, limited to no more than twenty net carbs for the day through mostly protein, healthy fats, and vegetables.

Given that I’ve had the gluten curse for a while now, we both found this program pretty easy to follow. So last year from July onwards, we’ve been on the keto wagon.

The combination of feeling like we’re eating the same things and stalling out as well as the stupid holiday season talked us into going off program. But part of my new morning routine has been a renewed investment in this style of eating.

Enough of the boring part.

The good news—my husband has lost a ton of weight on this and enjoys it with me so it’s easy to stick to.

Sometimes I feel like I would almost rather give up sex so I could have a stupid french fry. But on the other hand, adding butter to my coffee so I get to lose weight is a strange indulgence…

Which also makes the whole you are what you eat even more strange because if I eat mostly fat then, well, you know.

But on the other hand, I’ve been focusing on getting the right nutrients each day. And somehow knowing that eating food that gives me energy rather than taking energy makes me focus more during the day.

This lets me do more in my business—the better I eat, the better my business performs. It’s been really interesting to discover this and has made a shift in my eating habits for sure. Funny how it’s easier to be accountable to my business than it is to just myself.

I’m still not losing weight on this whole program… but am still trying to commit to the habits, not the end result.

And yet, going out to eat and seeing the skinny little girls that only ever worried about like five vanity pounds in their lives… well… let’s just say if my thoughts are on trial, I’m definitely not going to heaven.

I know you know what I mean. We all do it and laugh at others when they do it. One of the things that I love doing is what we call Boosted Accelerators – where we essentially shut down our business and have our entire team working on your business for 4 days – we can literally build a business in 4 days.

But it’s SOO common. We have a core objective of things we are working on – launch this and get people this way and sell it this way and deliver this way.

And it’s like being on a speeding train – we’re building funnels, and websites and automation systems and business processes…

And then BOOM, the client then says, “Oh, I saw so and so doing this thing and I want to do that same thing.” Even though the suggestion is barely related to the fundamentals of what we’re trying to do.

The way I make those events successful is by gently steering the owner back on track and getting back up to speed on the foundational elements. And then I go and forget everything I do for them and blow my own shit up all over the place. Like, every time.

I literally have no idea why it is I can tell someone else how to run their business and ignore all of the things when it comes to my own business. Honestly, it’s almost comical and cringe-worthy at the same time.

Just this week I was sharing with a friend how we have our project management system set up.

Several years ago I did a trial version of like 6 different project management software and took two different projects we were working on at the time and ran them through each software to see how the experience would be. Yes, it was painful, and yes, it was a total geek move, but if the shoe fits…

Anyway, I focused in on Wrike and use that now to run our business. It was so efficient that I actually was able to let go of the staff person I had hired to be the project manager because the system saved us so much time. And over the years I have adapted it multiple times to even better fit our needs.

So anyway, I’m doing this demo with my friend showing her how we have our system set up and how we use it internally, with clients, to track pipelines, etc. She has decided to start using the same system and is having them do the setup – and is going to share additional tips and tricks with me she learns so it’s a total win-win.

And then she tells me about the affiliate program they have going. I have never signed up because pretty sure they didn’t even have that when we started using the software – but over the years I have sent many people their direction.

She tells me how she’s going to set this up and then do a live interview sharing how it’s set to manage her business projects and then use the affiliate link to make extra money.

Mic drop.

So two things happen at that point. One I think – what a brilliant idea! And on the other hand the green Mr. Hyde monster of envy rises up in me and I get that whole “that’s what I should be doing” thing. “I have been using this longer and if anyone should be making money from it it’s me.”

Yes, I am that petty sometimes. And I know I’m not alone.

But, here’s the thing. And what my rational brain is able to discern after Dr. Jekyll takes back over is that right now doing live public appearances like that is easier, more accessible, and in business line with what she is doing.

And not so for me. My focus is on increasing exposure and awareness of the Boosted Accelerator events I’m doing. So why would I get distracted with that and spend time on it anyway? I shouldn’t. And I won’t. And – I’m going to help her if I can because it makes sense for her.

So while I am still going to get jealous I’m sure – Mr. Hyde will make more appearances – I really want to stay on target and accountable with the things I’m focusing on to grow my business. And my strengths. And not let those damn shiny objects out there distract me and take me off course.

I love the work hard play hard mentality. And while I get up early during the week I sleep in extra on the weekends.

Today was one of those typical mornings but sometimes they are so comical I have to share.

I must have been sleeping pretty well because when I finally pried my eyes open and started waking the slow get to conscious part of my brain I realized two things.

First, my shoulder was tingling like it was still trying to wake up. So to roll on my back and give it a break.

Then I realized thing two. My cheek had become glued to my pillow by the large pool of drool I had gathered. So you know that little slurp thing you do like it’s going to magically suck back in all of the spit and then you wipe your face with the back of your hand so like the germs won’t get you. Yeah, that.

Our dog Addi was laying next to the bed on the floor and heard my reverse drool maneuver so that was enough for her- up on the bed. Where she realized I had a dirty face and promptly decided to lick it clean for me.

Our 16 year old cat Mort sleeps with me every night so he was curled up in the crook of my arm.

As is customary for him also, he decided after Addi cleaned my face that her face was also dirty and in need of immediate cleaning. So he crawls across my belly and proceeds to lick Addi’s face clean.

In the mean time our three year old Savannah cat, Nico jumps on the bed and is feeling left out so he tackles Mort and licks his face. Then Addi turns and gives a couple big slurps on Nico’s face.

So now that everyone’s face is clean we can start the day. Whew!

I do love sleeping in and enjoying fur baby antics on the weekends. Gotta enjoy the little things!

I think enjoying things like this makes it all the more easy to stay focused during the week.